1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air valve device for an inflatable article, more particularly to an air valve device which facilitates deflation of an inflatable article.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional air valve device 1 is generally used for an inflatable article (not shown), such as a swimming ring, an air cushion, etc., and is shown to include a valve seat 1, a movable member 4, a biasing member 2, and an end cap 3. The valve seat 1 includes a seat body 11, upper and lower tubular walls 12, 13 extending upwardly and downwardly from the seat body 11, respectively, and a lower plate 14 connected to the lower tubular wall 13 and spaced apart from the seat body 11. The seat body 11 has a central mounting hole 111 and four communicating holes 112 arranged around the central mounting hole 111. The lower tubular wall 13 has a plurality of passage holes 131. The movable member 4 includes a plunger 41 which has a connected end 43 that extends through the mounting hole 111 to engage a valve disc 44, and a head 42 that is operable to move the valve disc 44 from a closed position, as shown in FIG. 2, where the valve disc 44 is in air-tight engagement with the seat body 11 to shut off the communicating holes 112, to an open position, where the valve disc 44 is disengaged from the seat body 11 to permit air to flow through the communicating holes 112, and a seal ring 441 which is attached to the valve disc 44 to ensure air-tight engagement between the valve disc 44 and the seat body 11. The biasing member 2 is disposed to surround the plunger 41 so as to bias the movable member 4 to the closed position. The end cap 3 includes a cap body 31 and a connecting strip 32 to openably close the upper tubular wall 12. Since the valve disc 44 is moved to the open position against the biasing action of the biasing member 2, the plunger 41 has to be held in a depressed state during inflation and deflation of the inflatable article, especially during deflation, which is inconvenient to the user.